On a Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, the lawyer for former prime minister Najib Razak made a simple but weighty claim: if the High Court sides with his client next week, Najib should leave prison and finish his sentence at home without delay. The moment gathers up a long national reckoning, in which a once-powerful leader, convicted over money drawn from the SRC International affair, now looks to a contested document and a judge's ruling for a change in the terms of his confinement. Whether that claim finds its footing will be decided on Monday, and with it, a question about how much mercy the law a
Shafee: Najib Must Go Home Immediately if High Court Rules in His Favour
The case, his lawyer says, involves Najib's liberty.
Mark
Why are people paying attention to a press conference held before a ruling has even come?
Mimi
Because Shafee is setting the terms early. He's saying that if the court agrees with Najib, the release should be immediate, not tied up afterward.
Mark
What is the court actually being asked to decide?
Mimi
Najib filed a judicial review in April claiming a Royal addendum exists that would let him serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest.
Luke
Worth being plain here: the addendum's existence is Najib's claim. The reporting doesn't confirm it, and the court hasn't ruled on it.
Mark
And the sentence itself is already reduced?
Mimi
Yes. In February last year the Pardons Board cut 12 years and a RM210mil fine to six years and RM50mil.
Mark
What about a prosecution appeal?
Mimi
Shafee says prosecutors are free to appeal, but he argues it shouldn't postpone release because liberty is at stake.
Luke
That's his position, not a legal conclusion. We don't know from this report whether an appeal would pause anything, or how the prosecution will respond.
Mark
So what's known for certain?
Luke
The ruling is set for Monday, Dec 22. Everything about what follows is conditional.
Le Pouls
- A court date of Monday, December 22 hangs over a former prime minister still serving time at Kajang Prison.
- Najib's lawyer insists that a favourable ruling must bring immediate house arrest, not a delayed release.
- The claim rests on a disputed Royal addendum that would shift the rest of his six-year sentence to home confinement.
- Prosecutors may appeal any win for Najib, and the defence is pressing that such an appeal must not hold him behind bars.
- The outcome will turn on a single judicial review decision that could reshape the final chapter of his sentence.
On a Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, the lawyer for former prime minister Najib Razak made a simple but weighty claim: if the High Court sides with his client next week, Najib should leave prison and finish his sentence at home without delay. The moment gathers up a long national reckoning, in which a once-powerful leader, convicted over money drawn from the SRC International affair, now looks to a contested document and a judge's ruling for a change in the terms of his confinement. Whether that claim finds its footing will be decided on Monday, and with it, a question about how much mercy the law allows the fallen.
On Thursday, at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Najib Razak's lead lawyer, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, laid out what he expects if the High Court rules in his client's favour next week. The former prime minister would go home, and he would go home at once.
Shafee said the matter comes down to Najib's liberty. He acknowledged that the residence would need preparing, but argued that his client should not wait longer than necessary. Asked about a possible prosecution appeal, he said that was the prosecution's right, though it should not hold up release.
Najib, a Datuk Seri, is serving his sentence at Kajang Prison for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering linked to RM42mil siphoned from SRC International, once a subsidiary of 1MDB. His original sentence of 12 years and a RM210mil fine was cut by the Pardons Board last February to six years and a RM50mil fine.
The current dispute began with a judicial review he filed in April, in which he claims a Royal addendum entitles him to serve the rest of his term under house arrest. The High Court will deliver its decision on Monday, December 22. If it goes his way, the questions will be how fast he walks out and whether an appeal changes anything.
On Thursday, at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Najib Razak's lead lawyer set out what he expects to happen if the High Court sides with his client next week: the former prime minister goes home, and he goes home at once.
Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said the matter turns on Najib's liberty. If the decision is in their favour, he said, Najib must serve the rest of his jail term under house arrest right away. He acknowledged that preparations would have to be made at Najib's residence, but said the former premier should be allowed to return without unnecessary delay.
He was also asked about the possibility that prosecutors would appeal a ruling for Najib. Shafee said that is the prosecution's prerogative. But an appeal, in his view, should not hold up the release. He came back to the same point: the case involves Najib's liberty.
Najib, a Datuk Seri, is currently serving his sentence at Kajang Prison. The sentence follows a High Court conviction for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering. The charges related to RM42mil that was siphoned from SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.
The original punishment was heavy: 12 years in jail and a RM210mil fine. In February last year, the Pardons Board reduced it to six years and a RM50mil fine.
The present dispute comes from a judicial review application Najib filed in April. In it, he claims that a Royal addendum exists, and that under it he should be serving the remainder of his prison term under house arrest rather than behind bars at Kajang.
The High Court has set Monday, Dec 22, to deliver its decision in the judicial review. What follows will depend on the ruling. If it favours Najib, the question becomes how quickly he is released and whether any prosecution appeal changes that, a step Shafee says should not delay his return home.
Citations marquantes
If the decision is in our favour, he must serve his remaining jail term under house arrest right away.— Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Najib's lead counsel
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Crime & Justice